24-25
November 2016
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Next stop - Middle Percy Island. |
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The waning moon in the pre-dawn light as we throw off the lines in Mackay Marina. |
After a week on the dock in the Mackay Marina we were finally able to cast off the lines in the pre-dawn light to continue our Great Barrier Reef meanderings. The strong south easterlies were now gone, replaced by gentle breezes from the north east that saw us motor-sailing over calm waters.
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Clearing the Mackay Harbour breakwaters as the sun rises. |
We were off to the cruisers’ Mecca of Middle Percy Island with its beautiful palm lined beaches, crystal clear water and iconic A-Frame gathering place for sailors from all over the world.
Obviously
we would have preferred to have enough enough wind to be sailing but the smooth
conditions were perfect for our new crew member, young Master Kristian, to
settle in and get his sea legs. Our 8 year old grandson was to be on board Our Dreamtime for the next month or so
as we made our way down the Queensland coast to Brisbane.
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Kristian on his first watch aboard Our Dreamtime. |
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One of the flotilla of boats leaving Mackay after the southerly blow. |
After
the extended run of adverse winds we were part of a small flotilla that exited
the marina headed for ports south. We made our way through the mooring field
off Hay Point where bulk carriers weight at anchor for their turn on the long
jetty to take on coal for export all over the world. Sailing close by these
monsters was an all new experience for Kristian. He was very impressed at just
how big they are.
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Sailing by a bulk carrier at anchor awaiting loading off Mackay |
We
passed by Prudhoe Island and ran along the eastern side of the Beverly Group
before the final run across to West Bay at Middle Percy Island. Fortunately the
wind did pick up on this leg and we were able to enjoy a bit of a sail.
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Keeping an 8 year old occupied on a 9 hour passage was a new challenge for us. Here Kristian's looking for dolphins. |
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The book idea worked for about 15 minutes. |
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What's next Nanny? |
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Letting Kristian loose with a camera proved a winner. |
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Sailing at last when the wind picked up. |
Mackay
Marina to Middle Percy Island – 58.9 Nautical Miles – 9 Hours 37 Minutes - Average Speed 6.2 Knots – Max Speed 7.6
Knots.
The
near sixty mile trip took over nine and a half hours so it was a bit of a trial
for an eight year old. We worked at keeping him busy so fortunately we didn’t get asked ‘Are we there yet? , When are we going to be there?’ too often. Once
we anchored up we got the dinghy down off the davits fairly smartly and headed
straight into the beach where young Master Kristian was able to tear around the
sand and burn up a good supply of pent up energy.
He
was particularly impressed with the A-Frame literally packed to the rafters
with memorabilia left behind by the crews of thousands of cruising boats to
mark their visit to this bay so high on most sailors ‘must do’ list. To
Kristian it was a huge cubby house full of ‘really
cool stuff’. He had a ball exploring
every nook and cranny before inviting himself to assist one of the visitors who
was building a fire in the pit in preparation for barbecuing their dinner. Suffice to say there was no shortage of wood
added to ensure the fire built would have been capable of cooking an ox.
Following our foray onto the beach, we all turned in for an early night after
dinner on board ready for a full day of activity on the morrow.
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Kristian having his first snorkelling lesson in the lagoon at Middle Percy Island |
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All OK. |
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Hi Poppy! |
Number
one on the next day’s agenda was Kristian’s first snorkelling lesson. One of
the other cruisers we met at the A-Frame suggested we take him into the small
inner harbour to begin his underwater adventures. The harbour is accessed by a
narrow passage in the rocks but only at high tide. The entire inlet dries
completely on the low. Earlier in the
season friends with a multi-hull had sheltered inside with five other
catamarans from some strong westerly winds for a couple of days and spoke about
the surreal experience of walking to each others’ boats for sundowners.
The
climb through the bush was simple enough and he was able to take some nice
photos courtesy of the elevation but as far as internet was concerned it had to
be classified as a fail. It was possible to get a sniff of phone service
showing on screen but it continually dropped out before any weather site could
be accessed despite even climbing a tree to gain a little extra elevation. Such
is life.
Keeping
Kristian out of the water for a
reasonable space of time after lunch was a real effort. Having discovered a
whole new world under the water, his excitement levels were off the Richter
scale. A large slice of the afternoon were spent snorkelling along the northern
edge of the bay where we discovered good numbers of colourful fish of all
sizes. It was also Kristian’s introduction to some of the huge range of hard
and soft corals that make up the Great Barrier Reef. He also got the hang of
the concept of free diving within no time and was soon reaching three and four
metres down.
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Kristian proved a very quick learner when it came to snorkelling |
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A nice stingray we saw. |
Later
we enjoyed sundowners onboard Matt and Debbie’s boat. Their 50 foot catamaran’s
expansive salon made an instant impression on Kristian. With the direct honesty
only found in children, his response when Karen asked if he liked La Jorja his instant response was, ‘Yeah! It’s
better than your boat’.
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Sundowners on La Jorja with Matt and Debbie |
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Photo by Kristian |
West
Bay at Middle Percy Island well deserves its reputation as a MUST
for cruisers sailing the Queensland Coast. We’d had two very enjoyable days
here again. While we’d hoped to take the walk up to the homestead the following
day, the weather forecast dictated that our stay at the Island would be short
one this time as things looked good to make our way south to Great Keppel
Island via relatively short hops to Hexham Island and then Pearl Bay over the
following three days. Hexham Island became a real favourite of ours when we
spent a couple of nights there last year – see Another Tropical Island Paradise all to ourselves – and we were
keen to revisit.
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Good night from Middle Percy Island. |
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Thank you for your positive comments ... We try to be both informative and entertaining with our blog posts .... Cheers Rob and Karen
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